KLEM News AM Update April 27, 2010

The Sioux County Sheriff's office identified the woman who died in the accident two miles northwest of Hull as 51-year-old Judy Dieken of George.

Authorities report Dieken was driving north on Highway 75 when a southbound pickup truck crossed the center line and struck her van. The pickup driver, 42-year-old Patrick Camburn of Rock Rapids, was taken to the hospital in Rock Valley by Hull Ambulance and was later transferred to a Sioux Falls hospital by air ambulance.

Dieken was pronounced dead at the scene by Sioux County Medical Examiner Dr. Curt Horstman.

The sheriff's office was assisted by the Iowa State Patrol, Hull Fire and Ambulance and the Sioux Center Ambulance. The accident is still being investigated.

(CHARLES CITY)--A Le Mars native who retired from teaching young students will be back in the classroom this week.

Joyce Holton Crawford of Charles City will talk with second through fifth graders at all four Le Mars Community elementary schools.

Listen to Joyce Holton Crawford

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Crawford's book, "Don't Call Me Michael," was published in December and centers on a bully, Michael and another fourth grade student, Christopher.Listen to Joyce Holton Crawford

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Holton Crawford's sisters, Lavonne Kommes and Maureen Carroll, live in Le Mars. She will be at the Le Mars Public Library Thursday afternoon at 5:30

Holton Crawford's experiences as an author attempting to have her work published will be reported on upcoming news on KLEM.

(LE MARS)--Two men are suspects in a short change scam in Hinton, Le Mars, Sibley and Sheldon.

Plymouth County Crime Stoppers reported two men entered a convenience store in Hinton, the Le Mars Truck Stop and Wal-Mart in Le Mars Saturday night between 8 and 9. They used what police described as short change tactics to confuse the cashiers into giving them extra change.

They took about 700 dollars from the businesses through the scam. Similar incidents were reported in Sheldon and Sibley.

The suspects are described as two black men in a white four-door car. One of the men is described as shorter, heavy set with a mustache and about 40 to 50 years of age. The other suspect is about six foot tall with a medium build.

Plymouth County Crime Stoppers offers a reward of up to one-thousand dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction for any felony crime. Calls are confidential and you do not have to give your name. The Crime Stoppers number is 548-4968.

(LE MARS)--Many motions to approve will be considered today at the Plymouth County Board of Supervisors meeting in the lower level of the Plymouth County Courthouse.

The board has been asked by Recorder Jolynn Goodchild to approve the appointment of a vital statistics deputy recorder position. A public hearing will be held at 10 a.m. on plans to issue general obligation Local Option Sales Tax Refunding Bonds of not more than $3.5-million.

At 10:15, there is time for comments during two public hearings for approval of economic development agreements with Plymouth Oil and Plymouth Energy, both of rural Merrill.

Action on the courthouse window replacement project is scheduled for 10:30 Tuesday. The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. (News report by Dave Ruden)

Plymouth County Board of Supervisors Agenda for Tuesday, April 27, 2010

DENISON, Iowa (AP) Authorities in Crawford County say one man has been killed and another injured in a rollover accident near Denison.

The Iowa State Patrol reports a 24-year-old man from Denison, Alex Hernandez-Gaona, was driving northwest of the town Saturday evening when his BMW rolled into a ditch and overturned.

Troopers say Hernandez-Gaona, and his 26-year-old passenger, Roberto Hernandez-Fries, were wearing their seat belts, but both were seriously injured in the crash. Hernandez-Fries was declared dead at the scene, and Hernandez-Gaona was taken to Crawford County Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

(LE MARS)--Plymouth County Jurors do not need to report for jury duty today. Jurors called to serve in the month of April have completed their jury duty. The clerk of court extends a thanks for the jurors availability.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Iowa will spend another $150 million to upgrade the state's infrastructure and create jobs.

Gov. Chet Culver on Monday signed a measure into law that includes the spending, which completes an $875 million effort that began last year to repair flood damage as well as fix outdated roads and make other improvements to public works. Culver calls the program I-JOBS to emphasize his effort to create jobs at a time when Iowa's economy has been sluggish and unemployment has risen.

The latest funding was included in a larger, $273 million, spending package.

After signing the measure in Cedar Rapids, Culver planned to promote the effort in Waterloo and Mason City.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Gov. Chet Culver has told The Associated Press he will sign into law a measure overhauling the way concealed weapon permits are issued.

The governor says he plans to sign the measure on Thursday.

He says he's always been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, which protects the right to keep and bear arms. Culver also says telephone calls and e-mails to his office have run heavily in favor of the measure.

Currently, those seeking a permit to carry a concealed weapon must apply with their local sheriff, who has broad discretion to make the decision about whether to grant the permit.

The new law would require sheriffs to issue permits to applicants who meet a set standard and allows sheriffs to deny an application only for a specific set of reasons.

LISTEN TO THE NEWSCAST

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Federal officials have announced a $38 million grant in the latest effort to help Cedar Rapids rebuild after devastating floods that hit the city nearly two years ago.

Speaking Monday on a conference call with reporters, Brian McGowan of the Economic Development Administration noted that $35 million of the grant will help pay for construction of a downtown events center. Another $3 million will go to the chamber of commerce to help pay for a center that would help people create and grow small businesses.

Sen. Tom Harkin says the money will create jobs and boost the local economy.

Rep. David Loebsack says he's been pressing hard for the grant.

AMES, Iowa (AP) The Libertarian Party of Iowa has adopted its slate of 2010 candidates, led by Eric Cooper of Ames as its nominee for governor.

The Libertarians met Saturday in Ames to nominate their slate.

Under Iowa law, the Libertarian Party can gain major party status if its gubernatorial candidate gets 2 percent of the vote in the general election. Cooper said the party's goal is not to win, but to get the 2 percent needed for major party status.

In addition to Cooper, the party nominated Nick Weltha of Des Moines for lieutenant governor, John Heiderscheit of Bettendorf for U.S. Senate and Rob Petsche of Manchester and Gary Sicard of Robins for the U.S. House 1st and 2nd Districts, respectively.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Court documents indicate that University of Iowa Police had previous contact for drug-related activity with nearly every one of the UI students charged with drug-related offenses during residence hall raids last week.

The details on the police officers' prior contact with the students are outlined in the 11 search warrants and affidavits obtained before the dorm busts. Thirteen students were charged in the April 19 raid, and 11 were given drug-related offenses.

According to the warrants, nearly all those students had prior contact with police since the beginning of the school year.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Police in Des Moines say they have charged a local man with sexual abuse for allegedly having sex with his 12-year-old stepdaughter.

Officers said Monday that 27-year-old Joseph Ryan Moberly allegedly had sex with the girl multiple times over the last year, starting when the child was 11. He was charged with second- and third-degree sexual abuse and is being held at the Polk County Jail.

Police Sgt. Lori Lavorato says Moberly was estranged from his family, including the victim, in the weeks that led up to the most recent incident, which allegedly happened on Saturday.

Police did not know Monday night if Moberly had an attorney.

AMES, Iowa (AP) Police in Ames have released the name of an Iowa State University student who was hit and killed by a train over the weekend.

Police say the body of 19-year-old Raven Gileau was found early Sunday morning along the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, but they are not sure exactly when she was hit.

University officials say Gileau was a sophomore architecture student from Virginia.

Ames Police Cmdr. Mike Brennan said Monday that Gileau was separated from her friends and decided to leave a bar. She started walking home with an unidentified male friend.

Brennan says the man left Gileau under a railroad viaduct to retrieve his car. When the man returned, Gileau was gone.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) An Iowa man has pleaded guilty to a single count of securities fraud in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, and now faces up to 20 years in prison.

Authorities say 47-year-old Bryan Behrens of Honey Creek, Iowa, lured mostly elderly investors under false pretenses and used some of their money to buy luxury items.

Behrens was indicted last April on 21 federal counts, including securities fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.

Authorities say Behrens, who founded the Omaha-based 21st Century Financial Group, collected more than $8 million from about 25 investors.

Investigators say he used some of the money to pay off early investors and spent millions on luxury vehicles and other items.

He is set to be sentenced on July 14.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A Marble Rock man could only weep as he cashed in a $1 million scratch ticket of the Iowa Lottery.

Richard Koenigsfeld's luck came as he continued to mourn the March 26 death due to cancer of his 60-year-old wife, Dian. As he cashed in the ticket Monday, Koenigsfeld said his wife was looking out for him.

Unfortunately, the loss of his wife is not the only tragedy the 58-year-old Koenigsfeld is dealing with. His son Gabe of Sioux Falls, S.D., was killed in a November construction accident.

The Farmers Cooperative truck driver says he brought a $20 scratch-off ticket at a Marble Rock convenience store on April 18, his wife's birthday.

After state and federal taxes were deducted, Koenigsfeld claimed $455,000.

Koenigsfeld says he plans to take off from his job to sort out his feelings.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) With a gay father and a gay twin brother who wanted to join the military but decided not to, it's not surprising Iowa National Guard member Dan Tallon isn't passive when it comes to the federal ``don't ask, don't tell'' policy.

The University of Iowa political science major has started a petition seeking to push Iowa lawmakers to not enforce the federal prohibition on homosexual and bisexual soldiers from disclosing their sexual orientation.

Tallon contends Congress is dragging its feet on changing the policy. He says he has more than 500 signatures on the petition, including those of local government officials and state lawmakers.

Tallon will be deployed to Afghanistan this fall. He says he will write Iowa lawmakers while in Afghanistan, hoping the issue will make the 2011 legislative session.